The crew behind The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is determined to avoid an unforgettable Game of Thrones mistake. There’s even a sign hanging up on their set.

Credit: Ross Ferguson / Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon MGM Studios. Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir; Maxim Baldry as Isildur; Nia Towle as Estrid.

We’ve just said goodbye to House of the Dragon for a couple of years until the third season comes out, but fantasy fans don’t have to wait long for the next show on their watch lists. Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns with its second season later this month, and all eyes are on the Tolkien adaptation to see where the story goes next. It might not have been as big of a hit as the Game of Thrones spinoff, but The Rings of Power received generally positive reviews in its first season, even if fans of the source material were unhappy with changes.

Ahead of the show’s return, GQ got to go behind the scenes at a film studio in England to speak with the cast and crew about the upcoming sophomore season. Through conversations with showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay as well as cast members like Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers, we get some tidbits about how the show started, casting auditions, and reactions to that big Sauron reveal. But one small detail from the show’s set is one I had to go back and reread, laughing to myself at how unexpected and amusing it is.

The Rings of Power shades Game of Thrones to keep the cast and crew in check

When segueing into the topic of Game of Thrones — which prosthetic artist Barrie Gower and his wife and makeup partner Sarah worked on before The Rings of Power — GQ was sure to note a sign hung up on one of the sound stages that features a photo from the final season of Thrones — the unforgettable coffee cup scene. The sign reads: “We don’t want to end up like this lot. Keep rubbish away from set.” Well, that’s one way to avoid an embarrassing mistake!

Basically, in the season 8 episode “The Last of the Starks,” a coffee cup could be seen next to Daenerys Targaryen during one scene in Winterfell. The show soon removed the cup from the episode, but not before everybody saw it and memed it into legend.

Speaking of Game of Thrones, Payne and McKay briefly commented on The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon being in competition with each other, but they remained diplomatic. “We’re focused on our own side of the street,” McKay assured. At least this year, the two shows aren’t on at exactly the same time, which was the case for their premiere seasons.

Unfortunately, apart from the fact that both shows are prequels to beloved fantasy stories, another commonality they share is the toxic, racist reactions they’ve received.

Like House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power faces racist backlash

GQ touched on the unfair backlash The Rings of Power has received ever since casting announcements started coming out. Actors of color play central characters, something that the majority of the fandom is perfectly fine with. But sadly, the toxic part of the fandom is loud, and it got so bad that the cast came out with a statement during its first season. Cast members from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan, also got involved to show support for the cast.

Sophia Nomvete, who is fantastic as Disa in The Rings of Power, told GQ that the fantasy genre “was closed to me before,” explaining,“ Growing up there was nobody that looked like me in the front and centre of fantasy.”

“The attacks came in droves, but I am honoured to be in the battlefield. I wear those scars with pride,” Nomvete said of the racist backlash. It’s truly unfortunate that so many adaptations go through a similar experience, but we know the real fans of these worlds embrace diversity and inclusion, as they should.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29 with a three-episode drop. After that, new episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays. I swear, if I hear of any coffee cups or other modern-day objects in any of the episodes, I will cackle.